Aside from the early Scherzo, Op. 4, the Rhapsodies, Op. 79, are Brahms's largest single-movement works for piano. Published in 1880 by Simrock in Berlin, the pieces are dedicated to the composer's friend and former student, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg (née Stockhausen). Brahms had met Ms. Stockhausen in Vienna in 1863. He found her so attractive he could not talk around her, much less teach her anything, and suggested she study with Julius Epstein, who had the same problem with her. It was only after Stockhausen married that Brahms was capable of feeling comfortable in the company of the woman he affectionately called "Liesl."

An arpeggiated triad opens the second Rhapsody, set in G minor. In many ways the piece is the most traditional of Brahms's late piano works, cast in a straightforward sonata form. A transition from the plodding, G minor first theme moves to the minor dominant (D minor) and a lighter, but still plodding, repeated-note second theme. The ubiquitous accompanimental figure, a rising and falling minor second, is drawn from the transitional material. After a repeat of the exposition, the development begins with numerous statements of the main theme on several harmonies. Brahms states the second theme in full before combining the first theme with the accompaniment figure from the second theme in a passage that requires the pianist to cross hands. The thematic material dissolves into flourishes as the recapitulation begins, following the same course as the exposition, but with the necessary changes to present the second theme on the tonic. A majestic heaviness pervades the work, even in the most transparent passages.

Von Herzogenberg once told Brahms that, of the two Rhapsodies dedicated to her, the G minor was her favorite.

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The two Rhapsodies, Op. 79, are strong, dramatic works that date from Brahms' full compositional maturity. They differ from each other in their formal layouts much more than in their expressive mode, for which reason they are rarely performed together. The first of the pair, in B minor, is in the ABA form of a scherzo; indeed, there is a palpable affinity between the Rhapsody and Chopin's Scherzo in B minor, Op. 20. As in Chopin's work, the main section of the Rhapsody is an emotional cry for which the much quieter middle section provides needed relief; here, Brahms invests the harmonies with a particular subtlety. The second Rhapsody, in G minor, is one of the composer's most popular and effective piano works, tautly written and darkly dramatic. It is cast in a sonata-allegro form; the cascading chords of the first subject cloud the work's tonality in ambiguity, while the second subject, which unfolds in the piano's lower registers, provides a dramatic contrast rather than a lyrical one. This six-minute work, only half as long as its predecessor, foreshadows the tragic but proud mode of larger-scale works like the Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98 (1884-1885).

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Brahms spent the summers of 1877 - 1879, some of the most productive of his life, in Carinthia. These years saw the composition of the Second Symphony, the Ballads, Op. 75, the Songs, Opp. 69-72, the Motet, Op. 74, the Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 76, the Violin Sonata, Op. 78, the Violin Concerto, Op. 77, and the Rhapsodies, Op. 79.

Aside from the early Scherzo, Op. 4, the Rhapsodies, Op. 79, are Brahms's largest single-movement works for piano. Published in July 1880 by Simrock in Berlin, the pieces are dedicated to the composer's friend, Elisabeth von Herzogenberg (née Stockhausen). Brahms had met Ms. Stockhausen in Vienna in 1863, when she began to take lessons from him. He found her so attractive he could not talk around her, much less teach her anything, and suggested she study with Julius Epstein, who had the same problem with her. It was only after Stockhausen married Heinrich von Herzogenberg that Brahms was capable of being comfortable in the company of the woman he affectionately called "Liesl."

It seems Brahms found it difficult to find titles for the two works of Op. 79. At first, he referred to No. 1 as a Capriccio, without naming the second. The program for the first performance in Krefeld on 20 January 1880 lists both works as "Caprices." Two months before publication, Brahms asked Elizabeth von Herzogenberg what she preferred. She suggested "Rhapsodies," despite the fact that the works have very clear formal structures.

Set in B minor, the first of the two Rhapsodies is ternary in form (ABA). Section A displays characteristics of sonata form: There is a secondary theme on the relative major (D major) that is based a motive from the opening theme. After the exposition is repeated, a quiet passage begins on D minor. Although this begins with new material, it becomes developmental, featuring fragments of the main theme on different harmonies. Rapid, rising scales introduce the recapitulation, which forgoes the D major material. The theme of the melodious, B major central section is drawn from the D minor passage in part A. Divided into two parts, the central section contrasts major and minor modes. The return to section A is literal and includes a coda that resolves the B-section melody to the tonic.

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